Author: 5amResearch
Loomer’s relationship with Trump: 3 National Security staff fired
Far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer reportedly made sure three National Security Council staff members were fired, as Loomer considered them disloyal. She communicated this opinion to Donald Trump in a brief White House meeting Wednesday. Laura Loomer is not a new name in MAGA circle. She was frequently seen with the president ahead of the election. Her extreme statements against Kamala Harris spelt trouble for the Donald Trump campaign and she was apparently sidelined, but the three recent…
China’s response to US tariff announcement: Breach of WTO rules, countermeasures will follow
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson slammed US’ “reciprocal tariffs,” saying the US’ move seriously violates WTO rules and undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system. “China strongly opposes the US’ move and will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its legitimate interests,” Guo said, responding to a question over the US’ “reciprocal tariffs” on its major trade partners, including 34 percent on China. The Chinese side has repeatedly stressed that there is no winner in trade war and that protectionism leads nowhere, the spokesperson said. “China urges the US to immediately correct its wrongdoings and resolve trade disputes with China and other countries through equal, respectful, and mutually beneficial dialogue.”
In Texas, ‘water is the new oil’ as cities square off over aquifers that may soon dry out
In Central Texas, a bitter fight over a $1 billion water project offers a preview of the future for much of the state as decades of rapid growth push past the local limits of its most vital natural resource. On one side: Georgetown, the fastest growing city in America for three years straight, which in 2023 signed a contract with an investor-funded enterprise to quickly begin importing vast volumes of water from the Simsboro Formation of the Carrizo Wilcox Aquifer,…
JD Vance says Denmark has ‘under invested’ in Greenland
US Vice President JD Vance on Friday criticized Denmark for failing to adequately protect Greenland, during a visit to the strategically significant and resource-rich Arctic territory. His remarks, made at the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, have been viewed as a provocation by both Copenhagen and Nuuk. “Denmark has not done enough” Speaking at a press conference, Vance accused Denmark of under-investing in Greenland and neglecting both its people and its security infrastructure. “Our message to Denmark is very…
Israel launches first air strike on Lebanon’s Beirut since November truce
Israeli attack destroys a residential building in a Beirut suburb as France’s Macron decries ‘unacceptable’ strike. Israel has carried out an air strike on Lebanon’s capital for the first time since a fragile truce between the Israeli army and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in November halted a war between the two. Residents fled as a building was flattened in the Hadath neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday when Israel carried out four strikes – an attack reminiscent of…
Anti-war Russian Scientist at Harvard Med Detained by U.S. Border Agents
U.S. immigration authorities detained and revoked the visa of a Russian scientist who opposes the war in Ukraine and had been conducting genetic research at Harvard Medical School, her friends and colleagues said this week. Ksenia Petrova was stopped at Boston Logan International Airport on Feb. 16 after returning from a personal trip in France. U.S. officials revoked her research visa for failing to properly declare frog embryos she had brought with her, according to The Harvard Crimson. U.S. Customs…
1,400+ Arrested in Turkey as Erdoğan Jails Istanbul Mayor & Intensifies Authoritarian Crackdown
Mass demonstrations continue in Turkey, where Istanbul Mayor İmamoglu was arrested on corruption charges. Since protests broke out, Turkish authorities have detained more than 1,400 people, including students and journalists. İmamoglu is the main rival of President Erdogan in the 2028 election and was recently nominated by the Republican People’s Party. Erdogan has led the country since 2003, but his popularity has dropped in recent years amid authoritarian policies. “Everyone knows that this is politically motivated and that Erdogan is scared that he’s not going to win against Ekrem İmamoğlu,” says Turkish political scientist Ezgi Başaran.
‘Don’t think he should apologize’: Donald Trump backs national security advisor Waltz amid Signal text leak fallout
US President Donald Trump on Monday defended national security advisor Michael Waltz, as his administration faces intense scrutiny over the recent Signal text chain leak that inadvertently exposed sensitive war discussions to a journalist. Waltz has been under fire after a staffer in his office mistakenly added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to a Signal group chat where high-ranking officials, including secretary of state Pete Hegseth, discussed planned military strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen. Despite the blunder, Trump…
US Boeing 737 MAX fraud trial set for June 23
In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after two fatal 737 MAX crashes A United States judge has abruptly set a June 23 trial date in the Department of Justice’s criminal fraud case against Boeing stemming from the plane maker’s alleged misrepresentations to US regulators about a key system on the 737 MAX. The judge set the trial date on Tuesday. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge…
‘They’re out of control’: Donald Trump says Jeff Bezos frustrated with Washington Post’s ‘crazy people’
US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about his working relationship with Jeff Bezos and the future of The Washington Post, alleging that Bezos privately criticised the newspaper’s staff. In an interview with OutKick’s Clay Travis, Trump claimed Bezos lamented the financial losses from running the publication and voiced frustrations about its newsroom employees. “They actually did a couple of bad articles on him,” Trump said. “He said, ‘This is crazy, I lose my fortune running this thing and they’re out…
Chinese EV giant BYD overtakes Tesla with annual sales topping $100 billion US
Tesla’s Chinese competitor BYD recorded a 73 per cent jump in fourth-quarter profit on Monday and said its annual revenue for 2024 crossed the $100 billion US mark, surpassing the U.S. automaker. The Chinese electric vehicle maker logged a record 777.1 billion yuan ($107 billion US, or $153 billion Cdn) in revenue last year as its sales of battery electric and hybrid vehicles jumped 40 per cent. In comparison, Tesla’s 2024 revenue was nearly $97.7 billion US ($140 billion Cdn). The…
Russia Sues Shell for $1.6B Over Unpaid 2022 Gazprom Supplies
Russia is suing Shell for 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) over allegedly unpaid gas supplies to the state energy giant Gazprom in 2022, the British-Dutch company said in its annual report published Tuesday. Shell announced in early 2022 that it would sever ties with Gazprom, halt Russian crude oil purchases and withdraw from Russian energy markets in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to the company’s annual report, Russian prosecutors filed a claim in a Moscow court on…
Kremlin says Iran has right to nuclear energy, acting in line with international law
“Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear energy and is acting in line with international law,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. Peskov said Moscow accepted Iran’s statements that it has no intention of obtaining nuclear weapons. Iran was one of the topics discussed in a long phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, after which the White House said the two leaders “shared the view that Iran should never be in a…
News from Russia: Kiev blew up metering station for EU-bound gas
The destruction of the border energy facility is the latest provocation by Ukraine, the Defense Ministry has said. Ukrainian forces retreating from Russia’s Kursk Region have destroyed the Sudzha gas metering station, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has reported. The incident took place early on Friday, roughly 20 minutes after midnight, the ministry said in a statement. The facility had been previously used to deliver fuel to consumers in European nations.
London’s Heathrow shut after power outage
A loss of power forced London Heathrow Airport, one of the world’s busiest, to shut down on Friday morning, prompting chaos and disrupting travel for tens of thousands of air passengers. In a post on social media website X, the airport blamed a fire at an electrical substation in North Hyde in Hayes, west London, for the power outage and said it did not expect to reopen until early on Saturday. Aviation analyst Alex Macheras told Al Jazeera the knock-on…
Delta flight to New York makes emergency landing in Ireland
A Delta Airlines aircraft en route to New York’s JFK Airport declared an emergency after finding a ‘mechanical issue with flight deck window heat,’ and reversed course over the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday afternoon. The flight DAL4 departed from London Heathrow Airport at 4.24pm local time on Tuesday, with an anticipated arrival at New York City at 9.23pm eastern time, as per FlightAware data. The Boeing 767-400, carrying 129 passengers, three pilots and nine cabin crew members, was redirected to…
